6-Hydroxy-2-naphthones such as 6-hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone (6,2-HAN) are possible intermediates for a variety of products having a multiplicity of end uses. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,217 issued June 18, 1985, discloses the use of hydroxy aromatic ketones, where the aromatic group may be 2,6-naphthylene, as intermediates for the production of N-acyl-acyloxy aromatic amines which can be used for the preparation of poly(ester-amide)s capable of forming an anisotropic melt phase and suitable for being formed into shaped articles such as moldings, fibers and films. Pending U.S. application Ser. No. 06/633,832, filed July 24, 1984, discloses a process wherein hydroxy aromatic ketones, e.g., 6,2-HAN, are used to produce acyloxy aromatic carboxylic acids such as 6-acetoxy-2-naphthoic acid (6,2-ANA) which are also capable of being used directly to make polymers which can be formed into an anisotropic melt suitable for the formation of shaped articles. Pending U.S. applications Ser. No. 06/661,552, filed Oct. 17, 1984, and Ser. No. 06/689,533, filed Jan. 7, 1985, disclose processes wherein hydroxy aromatic ketones such as 6,2-HAN are used as intermediates for the production of aromatic diols such as 2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene and their esters and ethers which have utility as polymerization monomers, photographic developers, polymerization inhibitors, dye intermediates, and anti-oxidants.
Davenport, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,125, teaches the acylation of 2-substituted naphthalenes, e.g., 2-naphthol, with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride as catalyst, to obtain 6-substituted-2-naphthones such as 6-hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone.
Lewis, U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,825 shows the rearrangement of esters of phenolic compounds, e.g., beta-naphthol, to hydroxyaryl alkyl ketones using anhydrous hydrogen fluoride as catalyst. The working examples of this patent are limited to the rearrangement of esters of higher fatty acids with the yields ranging from 55 to 95%.
Simons et al, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 62, 485 and 486 (1940) show the use of hydrogen fluoride as a condensing agent for various rearrangements and at page 486 show the Fries rearrangement of phenyl acetate to obtain p-hydroxyacetophenone.
Dann and Mylius in a dissertation included as part of a series of Reports from the Institute for Applied Chemistry of the University of Erlangen, received for publication on Jan. 7, 1954 and published in Annalen der Chemie 587 Band, pages 1 to 15, show the rearrangement of phenyl acetate in hydrogen fluoride to 4-hydroxyacetophenone, with a maximum yield of 81% after 24 hours of reaction time. They also report a yield of 92% from this reaction stated to be obtained by K. Weichert as reported in Angewandte Chemie 56, 338 (1943), but suggest that the difference in yields may be at least partly due to the previous ignoring by Weichert of the accompanying 2-hydroxyacetophenone. Dann and Mylius also report somewhat lower yields of hydroxy aromatic ketones from rearrangements in hydrogen fluoride of m-cresyl acetate, p-cresyl acetate, and guaiacol acetate.
Muessdoerffer and Niederprum in German Offenlegungschrift No. 2,616, 986, published Oct. 27, 1977, disclose the acylation of phenols and substituted phenols with an acyl chloride in the presence of hydrogen fluoride to yield the 4-acyl derivative in high yield with high selectivity. The inventors disclose that 2-naphthol and 7-chloro-2-naphthol can be acylated according to their invention but do not teach any specific method for the acylation of the naphthol derivatives nor do they indicate what isomer or isomers are produced with such naphthol derivatives.